Saturday, September 24, 2011

You may not believe this, but I'm not a fool 24/7. Often it takes effort and practice just to come up with something stupid. A foolish mindset needs reawakened, especially when I'm between creative projects or simply procrastinating.

One technique I use is to start the day with 15 minutes of creative problem solving—thinking foolishly! Creative coach Eric Maisel suggests that artists show up to their creative work first thing in the morning:

The main daily practice is waking up each morning and turning right to your creative work. That way you get to make use of your sleep thinking and create some meaning first thing—and the rest of the day can be half-meaningless and you won’t mind so much! Getting to the creating first thing every day is THE practice. —Eric Maisel interview

But this doesn't always work for me. When I'm in the middle of a project, I usually know what to do next. Other times I need to start with an exercise to develop those foolish mind muscles. 15 minutes seems doable and not as overwhelming as, “rehearse for 3 hours.”

Without my explaining more, this may be enough for you: start your day practicing foolish thinking for 15 minutes. Your inner-critic is half-asleep then. Take advantage of your freedom. Ignore objections that you can't function without coffee/breakfast/emails first.

How can you think foolishly for 15 minutes first thing in the morning?

If you need some more structure, tomorrow I'll continue with one of the ways I use that 15 minutes.

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About Drew the Dramatic Fool

Drew Richardson"If Teller of ‘Penn & Teller’ had ever become pregnant by Harpo Marx, Drew Richardson would be the one to arrive out of that strange scientific amalgamation." —Film Threat

I've been studying, teaching, and performing Visual Comedy Theater for the past 20 years. I was also the first person in the 21st century to make new short silent movies for mainstream movie theaters.http://www.dramaticfool.com